Alexandria Safe-Zone (TV Series)
The Alexandria Safe-Zone, or simply Alexandria, is a walled-off community in AMC's The Walking Dead located in Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, D.C.. Background Information Pre-Apocalypse Alexandria was a planned neighborhood outside of Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, D.C.. The neighborhood was an upscale planned community with its own solar grid, cisterns and eco-based sewage filtration with pricing starting at the $800,000 to $1,400,000 range. It was designed for sustainability. Post-Apocalypse The upscale planned community was a safe-zone established by the military in the early days of the outbreak, containing a handful of supplies for a large group of people. Ohio Congresswoman Deanna Monroe and her family were attempting to evacuate D.C. and return to Ohio to help handle the crisis in her state. While doing so, they were directed by the military to the neighborhood, among other survivors from D.C., and ordered to wait for their return, which never occurred. The evacuees used the supplies for their survival, including construction materials from a shopping mall nearby, which were used to build the wall. New survivors joined the community shortly thereafter. Deanna soon became their leader and saw promise and the rebirth of civilization in Alexandria. She believed who people were before the apocalypse mattered in rebuilding and sustaining the community. Reg Monroe, her husband, was a professor of architecture and took charge of building the walls. Her son, Aiden, was in ROTC and was made supply runner while her other son, Spencer, used the church tower as a sniper's post. She put Aaron and his boyfriend Eric Raleigh in charge of going outside to recruit more survivors due to their experience of working together for an NGO in Africa. Over time, Aaron and Eric recruited enough survivors to establish a thriving community. However, they recruited a man named Davidson who was the leader of a small group. Davidson and his group did not agree with Deanna and could not work in the safe-zone. Deanna had them exiled and driven out by Aaron, Aiden, and Nicholas, another member of the community. Because of what occurred with recruiting a group of survivors, Deanna suspended the recruiting program from taking in larger groups and instead focused on lone survivors. As time went on, Deanna saw that her citizens were not prepared for the outside world and that being inside the walls since the beginning of the outbreak made them weak and inexperienced in surviving. Knowing that this made them vulnerable to the undead and to hostile survivors that wanted to attack the safe-zone, Deanna allowed Aaron and Eric to resume recruiting larger groups. Arrival of Rick's Group Aaron and Eric came across a group of fifteen survivors from Atlanta, Georgia led by Rick Grimes. They spent a couple of weeks observing them and decided that they were safe and well enough to join the safe-zone. Aaron approached Rick's group and led them back to Alexandria, despite Eric being injured during the recruiting process. All of Rick's group were interviewed by Deanna about who they were, their skills, and what they'd encountered out there. After surrendering their weapons, they were given two houses. Rick was given the job of constable of Alexandria alongside Michonne. However, their group began clashing with the people of Alexandria. Some of the residents were ignorant of the new world and how to survive in it, causing them to act recklessly, which led to the deaths of Aiden and one of Rick's group members, Noah. Due to a lack of law and order, Rick was not allowed to punish a community member, Pete Anderson, for abusing his wife, Jessie, and their children, Ron and Sam. Rick retaliated by assaulting Pete and threatening the people of Alexandria. Gabriel Stokes, a priest Rick's group had met on the way to Alexandria, warned Deanna that the newcomers were dangerous and that they needed to be exiled from Alexandria before her people died at their hands. Deanna held a meeting for the residents of Alexandria and Rick's group to decide if Rick and his people should leave their community. Meanwhile, Aaron and his new recruiting partner, Daryl Dixon, were outside Alexandria looking for survivors and came across a dangerous scavenging group called the Wolves. They encountered Morgan Jones, who had been traveling north from Georgia in search of Rick. During Morgan's rescue of Aaron and Daryl, Aaron accidentally left behind his bag of photos and evidence of Alexandria, which was later found by members of the Wolves. Later that night, Rick delivered a speech to the people of Alexandria after he found and killed several walkers that got in the safe-zone. After informing the citizens that their sheltered lives had made them soft and unaware of the real world and that it will get them killed, Pete barged in on the meeting and inadvertently killed Reg. Deanna ordered Rick to execute Pete. Aaron and Daryl returned with Morgan just as Rick was carrying out the execution. Reforming the Community Deanna realized Rick was right in every way and the community would listen to him from that point on. After discussing what happened earlier that day with Aaron and Daryl, Rick officially retired Aaron and Daryl and ended the recruitment program, as nothing but dangerous men were out there who would try to kill their people. While disposing of Pete's body miles from the safe-zone, Rick and Morgan discovered a large quarry near the safe-zone that contained thousands of walkers, explaining why the safe-zone hasn't been overrun in the past year and a half. The only blockade that kept the walkers from escaping were semi trucks on a ridge which was beginning to give way. Rick returned to the safe-zone and proposed that the community not only be taught how to defend themselves, but also to help release the herd and divert them away from the safe-zone. Carter, a member of the construction crew, was not accepting of Rick's rule or his plan. Before the community ventured out, Carter attempted to rally other residents against Rick and kill him. Eugene Porter overheard, however, and before he could be killed, Rick intervened and established his rule as a leader of the community, but spared Carter's life. Using several teams of Rick's group and Alexandrian residents, the community planned to divert the walkers onto a road and lead them away from the safe-zone. During a dry run of the plan, a truck gave way, forcing them to put Rick's plan into action ahead of schedule. Most of the plan goes smoothly until the residents couldn't defend themselves, forcing Rick and his group to kill the walkers. One of the walkers bit Carter, forcing Rick to kill him. Meanwhile at the Safe-Zone, the Wolves, who were led to Alexandria by finding Aaron's bag full of evidence of the community, began their attack, massacring many of the Alexandria residents. As the attack commenced, Carol Peletier, a member of Rick's group, shed her covert identity as a homemaker in order to save the community. Killing one of the Wolves, she donned his clothes and began to take out numerous group members alongside Morgan. During the attack, the newly appointed doctor, Denise Cloyd, tried in vain to save the wounded citizens. Rosita, Aaron, Eric, and Maggie led the defense as Spencer spotted from the watch tower. A member of the Wolves was arriving with a truck full of walkers from Del Arno, intending to drive it through the walls of the community. Spencer managed to shoot and kill the driver, causing the truck to crash through the side of the watchtower and into one of the wall panels, setting off the horn. The sound attracted the attention of the rear half of the herd from the quarry to the direction of Alexandria. As the fight continued, Enid abandoned the community while Carl kept other residents safe, and Morgan captured the leader of the Wolves, Owen, and allowed a small group of them to flee. The rest were killed by Carol and the others. Morgan's reasoning for imprisoning Owen was to rehabilitate him and teach him to protect and preserve life rather than destroy it. Walker Invasion Losing nearly half of their team, only Michonne, Heath, and Scott returned to the safe-zone, followed by Rick, just as the herd began its siege on the community. Inside, tensions grew as residents, deeply troubled by the Wolves attack, became desperate for food, with some even committing suicide, seeing no way out. Relationships formed between Rick and Jessie and Tara and Denise. The community struggled to find ways out of the safe-zone, as it was assumed by many that Glenn, Nicholas, Sasha, Abraham, and Daryl had died outside. Spencer attempted to grapple his way out of the safe-zone, but he fell into the herd and nearly died. However, they received the signal of green balloons from Glenn, who was with Enid and survived the herd because Nicholas died saving him, giving hope to the community for getting out from the herd. However, the church tower that was damaged by a truck during the Wolves' attack collapsed and knocked down one of the panels, allowing the herd to enter the streets of Alexandria. Meanwhile, Daryl, Sasha, and Abraham were attacked by a group looking for their members: Dwight, his wife Sherry, and her sister Tina who had escaped from the group because of the group's corrupt rule. Daryl encountered the three, with Tina dying, and Dwight and Sherry stealing Daryl's crossbow and motorcycle. Daryl found a fuel truck and picked up Sasha and Abraham. On the way back to Alexandria, they were alerted by Eugene of the herd and were stopped by a group of men who demanded everything from them including the fuel truck, telling them all their supplies now belong to Negan. Before the group could kill Sasha and Abraham, Daryl escaped and used the RPG Abraham found earlier to kill the men. The three then returned to the Safe-Zone. As the herd filled the streets, Rick and Deanna attempted to cover the citizens while they retreated inside their houses, resulting in Deanna getting bitten. Rick, Carl, Michonne, Gabriel, Deanna, and Ron retreated into Jessie's house where she, Sam, and Rick's daughter Judith were residing. Aaron, Heath, and Spencer retreated into the infirmary with the wounded. Rosita, Tara, and Eugene retreated into the schoolhouse as Eugene radioed Daryl for assistance. Meanwhile, Morgan and Carol retreated into his house. Carol, however, followed Morgan bringing Denise to the prison cell earlier, as Owen had a cut with an infection. Carol went down to kill Owen, only to fight Morgan in order to get to him, prompting Morgan to knock Carol out and Morgan getting knocked out by Owen. He then took Denise hostage as Tara, Rosita, and Eugene entered the cell, taking her with him outside to the herd. As Owen and Denise navigated the herd, Owen was bitten while trying to save her. Carol then recovered consciousness and shot him. Owen sacrificed himself to save Denise as she ran to the infirmary with Aaron, Heath, Spencer, and other wounded members of the community. In the Anderson house, Ron attacked Carl for everything Rick had done to his family and the safe-zone, attracting the herd to the house and in the garage. As Deanna was dying from her bite, she gave advice to Rick and Michonne to go after what they wanted in life and to lead and protect the Safe-Zone after she is gone, including looking after Spencer. The herd finally broke through the house. Rick's only plan was to cover themselves with the intestines of walkers and walk through the crowd to the armory. Deanna stayed behind, killing as many walkers as she could to distract them from Rick and the others before she died. As Rick, Carl, Michonne, Jessie, Sam, Ron, Judith, and Gabriel walked into the herd in the streets, Sam started crying for his mom, attracting the attention of the walkers. Later on, Rick changed his plan to finding cars and driving the herd back to the quarry, but Jessie insisted that Judith be left with someone. Gabriel volunteered and took Judith into the church. As the group continued out, Sam had an emotional breakdown and began to cry, attracting the attention of the walkers and was devoured. Jessie, screaming in horror, was also devoured. As she wouldn't let go of Carl's hand, Rick chopped hers off. Ron points a gun at Rick for what happened, but Michonne drives her sword into his chest from behind. Ron's gun goes off and the bullet hits Carl's right eye. Rick and Michonne took Carl to the infirmary where Denise performs life-saving surgery. Eventually Rick led an attack on the Walkers, joined by his friends and the residents of Alexandria. The attack was repelled when Glenn, Enid, Daryl, Sasha and Abraham returned with a fuel truck, filled the lake with fuel and ignited it. The walkers were then drawn to the fire and walked into it, killing some, and providing a distraction for the rest, allowing the inhabitants to successfully rally and fight back, killing the rest of the zombies and liberating Alexandria. A New World After the attack, the citizens managed to rebuild the damaged wall panel and cleared the streets of walkers. In time, the expansion was completed and the safe-zone took in more houses and the church. People began to settle and grow relationships, such as Denise and Tara living together and Rick and Michonne growing closer. In time, the community also dug a small trench around the safe-zone blocked with cars and spikes and put up new defenses, giving the residents a new outlook on life in the community. Two months after the invasion, the community started to run low on supplies, prompting Rick and Daryl to go on a supply run for food and other necessities. They found a truck loaded with food, but it was stolen by a survivor the two met out on the road named Paul Rovia, who was nicknamed Jesus. After a spirited chase, the truck was lost in a lake and Rick and Daryl brought an unconscious Jesus back to the community, as Rick suspected he was from a settlement based on his clean appearance. As Carl healed, he and Enid went into the woods, as did Spencer and Michonne, keeping her promise to look after Spencer. Carl, Enid, Spencer, and Michonne encountered a reanimated Deanna, who managed to escape the safe-zone. Carl believed, like he did with his own mother, that Spencer should be the one to put her down, by someone who loved her. Later that night, Michonne questioned him about it, and Carl answered he would do it for her, that he considered her family. Soon after, Rick returned with Daryl and Jesus, putting Jesus in the community's makeshift prison cell. That night, he and Michonne realized their love for each other and the two kiss and have sex. The next morning, while they are lying naked in bed, Paul, who had escaped his cell, surprises them and tells Rick that they need to talk. Jesus revealed to Rick and the others that he saw potential with Alexandria and that they could help provide weapons and security for his settlement, as well as the others his group had been trading with. Jesus took Rick, Michonne, Glenn, Maggie, and Abraham to his colony, but not before rescuing members of his own group who were crashed and stranded, including Harlan Carson, a doctor. The group eventually arrived to Jesus's settlement, the Hilltop Colony. Jesus introduced the group to his leader, Gregory, to which Rick led Maggie to act on his behalf, like a leader. A small team of Hilltop then returned but with a message from Negan and an assassination attempt on Gregory's life. Jesus defended Rick's team after killing the assassin, and explained to them that Negan is the leader of a group calling themselves the Saviors, and that they arrived at the Hilltop shortly after the completion of the walls. He says that they demanded half of their supplies for insurance that the Saviors would not kill them. After Daryl proposes the idea, Rick and the others agree to save Craig and eliminate Negan and the Saviors, thereby ensuring the continued safety of both the Hilltop, and Alexandria. The Wall The safe-zone walls are made out of steel pipes and pieces of tin supported by steel tubing, which act as braces supporting the structure. The structure was erected by Reg Monroe and his sons using various materials gathered from the surrounding area. Other residents also helped them. Reg Monroe was the person behind the engineering of the wall, designing it to be strong enough to withstand the walkers. However, even with all of the braces and supports used, the charred watchtower toppled over and the wall was unable to withstand the force of impact and gave way, allowing the large herd of walkers to enter the community. Following the events of No Way Out, the survivors worked together by rebuilding new walls as well as completing the expansion, adding more houses into the community, plus the church. Inhabitants Grimes Family *Rick Grimes - leader of the community *Carl Grimes - student *Judith Grimes Monroe Family *''Deanna Monroe'' - former leader of the community; bitten and then put down as a walker by Spencer Monroe *''Aiden Monroe'' - former supply runner; impaled on metal bars and devoured by zombies *''Reg Monroe'' - community architect; killed by Pete Anderson *Spencer Monroe - lookout Anderson Family *''Pete Anderson'' - community doctor; killed by Rick Grimes *''Jessie Anderson'' - pantry worker; killed by zombies *''Ron Anderson'' - student; killed by Michonne *''Sam Anderson'' - student; killed by zombies Nicholas' Family *''Nicholas'' - former supply runner; committed suicide *Mikey - student Miller Family *Bob Miller *Natalie Miller Scouts *Aaron *Daryl Dixon Supply Runners *Heath *Scott *Glenn Rhee *Tara Chambler *''Annie'' - killed by zombies *''Noah'' - killed by zombies *''Will'' - killed by zombies, later stabbed by Nicholas Construction Crew *Sgt. Abraham Ford - foreman *Tobin - former foreman *Bruce *Francine *''Tommy'' - killed by zombies *''Carter'' - bitten by a zombie, later stabbed by Rick Grimes. Other Residents *Michonne - constable *Maggie Greene - former assistant to Deanna *Sasha Williams - lookout *Rosita Espinosa - medical assistant *Eugene Porter - engineer *Fr. Gabriel Stokes - priest *Morgan Jones *Olivia - armory/inventory chief *Eric Raleigh - former scout *Enid - student *Kent *Barbara *Anna *Rosemary *''Denise Cloyd'' - community doctor, shot through the eye by Dwight. *''David'' - killed by zombies *''Sturgess'' - gardener; killed by zombies *''Barnes'' - killed by zombies *''Holly'' - guard; stabbed by unnamed Wolf to bleed to death *''Shelly Neudermeyer'' - slashed in the head by an unnamed Wolf *''Erin'' - gutted by the Wolf Aphid and stabbed in the head by Carol *''Richards'' - guard; burned to death by unnamed Wolf *''Betsy'' - committed suicide *''Stacy'' - killed by an unnamed Wolf *''Michael'' - killed by an unnamed Wolf *Alexandria Resident 1 *Numerous other residents Deaths *Kim Myso - Died before Rick's group showed up. *Brian Struzan - Died before Rick's group showed up. *Alvin Gerry - Died before Rick's group showed up. *Annabel Culver - Died before Rick's group showed up. *Reg Monroe - throat accidentally slit by Pete in front of community *Pete Anderson - at Deanna's order, shot in the head by Rick as retribution for Reg's death *Shelly Neudermeyer - slashed in the head by an unnamed Wolf *Erin - gutted by Aphid and stabbed in the head by Carol to prevent reanimation *Michael - Killed by Wolves *Stacy - Killed by Wolves *Holly - stabbed by an unnamed Wolf and died of blood loss *Richards - burnt to death by a Molotov thrown by an unnamed Wolf; later put down by Maggie *Aphid - killed by Carol *Bobby - Killed by the Wolves. *Dinesh - Killed by the Wolves. *Dan - Killed by the Wolves. *Samantha - Killed by the Wolves. *O'Hara - Killed by the Wolves. *Charlyne - Killed by the Wolves. *Jeffrey - Killed by the Wolves. *Helen - Killed by the Wolves. *Park - Killed by the Wolves. *Adrian - Killed by the Wolves. *Betsy - committed suicide after learning of her husband's death *Deanna Monroe - bitten and then put down as a walker by Spencer Monroe *Multiple unnamed Wolves - Many died during their assault on the Alexandria Safe-Zone. *Sam Anderson - devoured by walkers *Jessie Anderson - devoured by walkers *Ron Anderson - stabbed by Michonne, then devoured by walkers *Owen - shot by Carol; bitten by walkers, then put down by Morgan *Maya *Ted *Pascal *Lucy Appearances TV Series Season 5 * "The Distance" * "Remember" * "Forget" * "Spend" * "Try" * "Conquer" Season 6 * "First Time Again" * "JSS" * "Thank You" * "Here's Not Here" * "Now" * "Heads Up" * "Start to Finish" * "No Way Out" * "The Next World" * "Knots Untie" * "Not Tomorrow Yet" * "Twice as Far" * "East" * "Last Day on Earth" Trivia *The neighborhood used for filming is in the town of Senoia, adjacent to where Woodbury was filmed. In fact, the water tower and the Governor's apartment building can be seen in several episodes. *AMC put up a virtual tour of the set online. It can be found here. *In "Knots Untie", it was confirmed by Maggie that the Alexandria Safe-Zone has over fifty residents living in the community. Category:TV Series Locations Category:TV Series Category:Locations Category:Groups Category:Alexandria Safe-Zone